San Miguel Beer guard CJ Perez goes for a shot against NorthPort in the PBA Philippine Cup.–PBA IMAGES

ANTIPOLO—San Miguel Beer secured both the twice-to-beat advantage and the No. 1 seed in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals after pounding NorthPort, 126-91, on Sunday at Ynares Center here.

CJ Perez finished with 24 points and five rebounds as the Beermen finished the elimination round with an 8-3 record to nab the top spot heading to the playoffs of the all-Filipino tournament.

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As of posting time, San Miguel tied NLEX and Magnolia, with Barangay Ginebra possibly joining the logjam with a win over Rain or Shine in the second game.

But regardless of the outcome of Ginebra’s matchup with Rain or Shine, the Beermen will finish first followed by the Road Warriors and the Hotshots by virtue of a superior quotient.

The win also assured San Miguel of a quarterfinal matchup with No. 8 seed Meralco, which went 6-5 in the elims, in the rematch of last year’s Philippine Cup Finals.

Jericho Cruz and Don Trollano added 17 points each, Mo Tautuaa posted 14 points, six rebounds and four assists while June Mar Fajardo added 10 points and 11 rebounds for San Miguel.

READ: PBA: San Miguel Beer staves off Rain or Shine rally for key win

NorthPort wrapped up the conference with a 2-9 record, a drastic downturn after going 9-2 and making the semifinals of the Commissioner’s Cup.

Joshua Munzon had 19 points but shot 4-of-14 from the field on top of five rebounds and four assists. Cade Flores added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Batang Pier.

The Batang Pier actually started the tournament on a winning note, but dropped eight straight that was compounded by the departure of Arvin Tolentino for South Korea and the trade that sent William Navarro to Magnolia for Calvin Abueva, Jerrick Balanza and a future pick.

Abueva posted five points and eight rebounds for NorthPort in the loss.